- It's the world's first sub-250g 'bi-copter' drone
- Created by ZZR, the makers of our favorite selfie drone, the HoverAir X1 Pro
- Promise of faster acceleration, unmatched agility and quieter flight
Following a soft reveal on the V-Copter website last month, Zero Zero Robotics has fully unveiled its V-Copter Falcon Mini drone on the product's crowd funding page.
It's the world's first sub-250g bi-copter drone – a radically different design to the best quad-copter DJI drones, and the supposed upside is faster acceleration, unmatched agility, plus quieter and longer flight.
We covered the V-Copter Falcon Mini after it appeared on the V-Copter website – it follows the beefier Falcon that largely flew under the radar, but weighs in under 250g which means it's more accessible to more people – and now we know the full specs and pricing.
The tantalizing $299 list price (around £270 / AU$550) sees the Falcon Mini rival DJI's Mini 4K and Mini 3 drones, plus the recent Potensic Atom 2, and if it delivers its promises, the 4K bi-copter offering could be the best pick for people wanting extended flight fun.
Could the V-Copter Falcon Mini disrupt the drone market?
Most of the best consumer drones are quad copters, but the Falcon Mini features just half the propellers, which sit in a v-shape above the drone's body.
This bi-copter design and propeller positioning enables a range of motion – the twin rotors can work independently, tilting in opposite directions for sharp turns and precise maneuvers, hence the 'unmatched agility'.
Another benefit of such a design is that the rotors can tilt downwards to optimize airflow and thrust for fast and powerful acceleration, within miliseconds of the drone being engaged. A Reverse Flight Kit debuts too, unleashing flight skills and tricks such as upside down flight and a 'reverse one foot spin' – file those under flight fun, rather than for aerial shots.
Flight stability is supposedly top drawer too, thanks to real-time flight adjustments and a 0.01 rotor angle precision. Together with a three-axis gimbal-stabilized camera, users should enjoy smooth 4K video footage, with 2.7K vertical video also possible.
The product is now available for backers on the V-Copter Falcon Mini crowdfunding page, with a limited number of early backers able to bag the drone for $199 (around £180 / AU$350), or for the full $299 price.
As always back at your own risk. However, we would say that Zero Zero Robotics' recent history is assuring – its recent HoverAir X1 Pro 'selfie' drone was put through crowd funding, and today is the best of its kind.
In fact, ZZR is doing drones differently; first was a selfie drone that DJI responded to with its recent Neo, now a bi-copter mini drone. For us, the competition ZZR is posing DJI, and more so its innovation, is most welcome.
The Falcon Mini is a drone we're really looking forward to testing – and of course, we'll share our experiences. Watch this space!
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